It is one of the maxims of law that no man can be a
judge in his own case, but lo and behold, here it is folks. We know that judges
are so unaccountable that they may do anything they wish, no matter how
unlawful, how unconstitutional, how egregious, or whom it may hurt or destroy.
This unaccountable practice, established by the judge-made doctrine of judicial
immunity, is so strong that it is bound to happen that a judge would sit in
judgment in his own matter.

There is a biblical principle of "know ye not that a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump," meaning that ultimately there is
no such thing as a little bit of evil. Those who tend to gardens understand this
principle when it comes to weeds.

In reading the following New York Times article, you
will have to concentrate intensely on the names, and the players. Ironically,
the defendant in this case is former Louisiana Governor Edwards, who is now
serving ten years in prison for extortion in gambling enterprises overseen
by the government.

In response to discovery for facts by the former
governor, Chief Judge Frank J. Polozola is claiming "irreparable injury to a
national interest" as the reason for non-cooperation, while assuming the
position of judge in his own case, and sealing the evidence by his own court
order. When asked for comment regarding the conduct of Judge
Polozola on handling his own case, the U.S. Attorney states that
no comments will be made on a case now pending before Judge
Polozola's court.

This could provide an ideal script for a new
movie. Any takers? If so, please don't forget to contact us, and cast
it in light of the need for JAIL4Judges. -Ron Branson

Federal Judge Pulls His Suit From Courts Run by State

By
ADAM LIPTAKNew York Times

Published: April 3,
2004

federal judge in Louisiana has taken control of an accident
case involving his car and issued an order transferring evidence about his
medical condition to a sealed federal court file.

The medical evidence is being sought by lawyers for former Gov. Edwin W.
Edwards of Louisiana. Mr. Edwards is serving a 10-year sentence for extorting
payoffs for casino riverboat licenses.

The former governor contends that the judge, Frank J. Polozola, should not
have heard his criminal case in 1999 and 2000 because the judge admitted in his
accident suit to being impaired and to using Oxy-Contin, a pain medication, in
that period.

A lawyer for Mr. Edwards, Nathan Z. Dershowitz, called the intervention in
the accident case outrageous.

"The notion that a federal judge can take over and enter orders in his own
state case, in which he is a party, is to my knowledge unprecedented and
shocking," Mr. Dershowitz said.

Experts in judicial ethics echoed that view. "This is really astonishing,"
Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, said. "Polozola cannot
be the judge of his own case. That's the first commandment of judicial
ethics."

Through a judicial assistant, Judge Polozola, the chief judge of Federal
District Court in Baton Rouge, declined to comment.

"He has a policy of not speaking to the media in any case pending before
him," the aide, Jackie Gaudin, said.

Mr. Dershowitz said Mr. Edwards would appeal the judge's ruling.

In the accident case, filed in 1998, Judge Polozola, 62, sought compensation
for a "serious physical injury" that caused him mental anguish and "impairment
of function." In the trial in 2000, Mr. Edwards's lawyers wrote in filings, the
judge engaged in "erratic, even paranoid" behavior. The accident case was
settled in 2001, and testimony from the judge, his psychiatrist and his
psychologist was sealed.

Mr. Edwards's lawyers, in challenging his conviction, recently sought to
unseal those records. That led to a request from federal prosecutors last week
that Judge Polozola take control of the state court case to avoid "irreparable
injury to a national interest."

Twenty minutes after prosecutors filed that request, Judge Polozola ordered
the evidence in his accident case transferred to federal court and sealed.

The United States attorney in New Orleans, James Letten, declined to comment,
citing the pending federal case. ....